OK. NOW WHAT?

As many of you already know, I am a stitchy slut.

Oh wait.

Let me re-phrase that in a more lady-likely fashion.

I have rather, um, eclectic tastes when it comes to stitching and I enjoy a plethora of various needlework styles and formats. I appreciate the artform for what it is and am most definitely a process stitcher as opposed to a progress/goal stitcher.

Oh, hells bells. Who am I kidding? I'm just one big fat hot mess when it comes to anything remotely related to "this thing of ours" and I flit from thingie to thingie like the 300-pound hummingbird that I am. (If you're having trouble with the visual on that one, imagine John Belushi in the bee costume and you're just about there. Now change it to a hummingbird, add red sparkly tights and purple high heels, a little more facial hair, and....voila! The Spinster Stitcher in all her whack-a-do glory!)

So last night I sat and pondered and pondered my stitchy mood and I've come to the conclusion that my moodiness as a person (go ahead, Aunt Chrissy....speak right up about this little fact) is tame in comparison to my moodiness as a stitcher. And yes, I swing from mood to mood to mood on a daily (if not hourly) basis.

The present mood I'm in has me fixatated on canvas work. Specifically, needlepoint. And even more specifically....needlepoint on a painted canvas. Miss Jane over there in Chilly Hollow is presently writing a series of posts about how one goes about selecting threads and stitches and whatnot for painted canvases. She asked readers to submit a "problem" canvas, and then other readers can write in with suggestions. I'm riveted by this discussion and have learned so many new ideas that I've had to empty my little brain of all of my pin numbers and important dates so that there would be adequate room in there for new information.

So I pulled out my Maggie Santa Claus canvas last night and started playing around with it, and decided to start with the background. I'm not sure if you can see what I did, but suffice it to say that I'm pretty happy with the results thus far and it's given me the courage to plow ahead to see what else I might come up with as I progress further.

All of this stitching and thinking and learning got me to realize that I've finally passed the paralysis phase of my needlepoint addiction. As I've moaned about before, I have dozens of gorgeous painted canvases, and they hang in my studio mocking me with muttered dares and taunts to see how I might muff them up by trying to stitch them without a guide. I spend hours and hours and hours up there trying to "see" what will look cool or what will go where, and then I write a list and make a mental note that I can't do one darn thing until I call in the professionals (like Jane at Chilly Hollow, or Ms. Janet Perry, or Ms. Ruth Schmuff, et al) to help me with thread and stitch selection.

But last night was different. I sat down and pulled a threaded needle and just started stitching. No angst. No moaning or whining that I don't know what I'm doing or whether or not my stitching is "correct"...I just put the needle through the canvas and pulled the thread and then did it again and again until I found something that I thought was swell. I don't have one darn clue as to what the next thread or stitch will be, but I'm starting to realize that these decisions don't necessarily have to mean life and death all the time. Sometimes you just have to freakin' DO something before you can get over that hump of not knowing HOW to do it. Know what I mean?

Never fear, though...the day is young and as sure as I'm sitting here in my eighteen year old sweatpants, I'll be in a fizzy tit by the time the tea is brewed and Stewey has made his selection for the afternoon movie. That's what makes me who I am...calm and determined one minute and up the chimney with anxiety and frustration the next.

Aunt Chrissy and I are looking forward to a stitchy/movie marathon over at her house tomorrow. She just got herself a big brand new fancy TeeVee that I am fairly certain is going to blow us both back in our respective chairs...so I am going to slap on the comfy clothes and head over there at first light. We're supposed to get some nasty snowy weather, so I just can't imagine a better place to park my fanny on a winter Saturday.

Happy Weekend to all! I hope that wherever you are is exactly where you want to be!